good luck, i can forward you the info of the 10 or so guys I have burned through doing the same work lol (plus another 20 who didnt make it more than one lawn). Seriously people are retarded or dont want to work or cant get to work...

contemplating dumping all of my lawns that arent full service accounts next year, too much bullshit, not enough money

My neighbor with a 1.5 acre lawn just contracted a company to cut it for $30, including weed whipping 40ish trees.

How can they even cover their overhead with prices like that?

Their not.

I too am contemplating going the same route Gunsworth. 8 FULL SERVICE accounts a week, solo, and Id be in a better position than now.

I have had the same experience as you and Hoser with helpers.

My CL ad, that told them I was going to work them like dogs, but offered $15 hour netted 200 responses. I ended up getting 5 out of 6 that I told the address too. 2 of them last roughly 2 hours and they were gone.

I too am contemplating going the same route Gunsworth. 8 FULL SERVICE accounts a week, solo, and Id be in a better position than now.

I have had the same experience as you and Hoser with helpers.

My CL ad, that told them I was going to work them like dogs, but offered $15 hour netted 200 responses. I ended up getting 5 out of 6 that I told the address too. 2 of them last roughly 2 hours and they were gone.

$15/hr and worked like a dog?

any day of the week, to bad you guys are on the wrong side of the state.

F'n kids are too busy checking Facebook on their phones to work.
I've had a few help me and none were worth a squirt.

Kids just don't know how to work these days, they rather have their parents work and stay home all day playing xbox/ online sitting on their ass. I got a job during the summer when I was younger just to get out of the house, and not do chores for my parents all day for free.

My neighbor with a 1.5 acre lawn just contracted a company to cut it for $30, including weed whipping 40ish trees.

How can they even cover their overhead with prices like that?

I would guess volume.

I did this with a friend of mine for a couple months between jobs. We were contracted by his friend to cut bank owned homes as well as a few of his friends/family homes. Charge was $30, we seen $20 per lawn. At one point, we were cutting 160 lawns a week, just two guys. Not a single lawn was over an acre, majority were in Flint/Burton/Davison area, stretching down into Clarkston. That was about $3k a week before paying me and gas.

During our busiest point, we worked basically sun up to sun down, and about 100 or more of these lawns were little 1/4 acre or less lots. We never had a complaint of quality.

I did this with a friend of mine for a couple months between jobs. We were contracted by his friend to cut bank owned homes as well as a few of his friends/family homes. Charge was $30, we seen $20 per lawn. At one point, we were cutting 160 lawns a week, just two guys. Not a single lawn was over an acre, majority were in Flint/Burton/Davison area, stretching down into Clarkston. That was about $3k a week before paying me and gas.

During our busiest point, we worked basically sun up to sun down, and about 100 or more of these lawns were little 1/4 acre or less lots. We never had a complaint of quality.

You are not making a profit working like that for 3k a week. Trust me. My crew is mowing 120+ lawns a week from 30 dollar city lots to 600+ dollar a week jobs. The profit margins are not there like they used to be, the lawn care pays for itself and that's about it we count on the lawn buisness bringing in the landscape work and snow removal that is where we turn our best profit.. I have been doing this for over 15 years now.

You are not making a profit working like that for 3k a week. Trust me. My crew is mowing 120+ lawns a week from 30 dollar city lots to 600+ dollar a week jobs. The profit margins are not there like they used to be, the lawn care pays for itself and that's about it we count on the lawn buisness bringing in the landscape work and snow removal that is where we turn our best profit.. I have been doing this for over 15 years now.

Thats nice and all.. But he definitely was not suffering. I was taking home up to $500 a week at most (This may be low pay, I dunno. It was just to help me out for a couple months), $75 a day for gas - if that. He had insurance to cover us.. We had very few equipment failures over the time I worked with him. I don't know all expenses, but I'm sure he was taking home no less than $1500 for himself every week out of 3k.

If they are too stupid to figure out how to milk the system and not work, you probably don't want them working for you either.

I have a lot of problems with my general labor. I've got a kid now with a good work ethic but he can not figure out anything on his own nor does he have a shread of common sense. If I keep him busy with mindless tasks, he does fine but anything that requires any problem solving, he's lost. I tried to teach him how to balance tires the other day and he could not do the simple math required when using multiple weights. The task was: What is half of 1.5 oz? He's a nice kid but, as John Wayne would say: "Life is hard. It's even harder when you are stupid."

I have three clients who spend $15k+ a year, and I've had them for four years now. The biggest site is 1.7 acres. You couldn't cut my price in half and steal these clients. You just have to pick the right "business plan" in the landscape industry, or you are competing with them.

I have one line I say to a HIGH end client, and most every time they've signed for more money than the last guy.

any day of the week, to bad you guys are on the wrong side of the state.

We were doing tree work. We removed/trimmed 8 very large oaks that were at the bottom of a hill, on the lakeside, 200 yards from the dumpster. They were worked like Mules, but I'm bot afraid to pay for hard workers.

F'n kids are too busy checking Facebook on their phones to work.
I've had a few help me and none were worth a squirt.

Though I agree most of the younger generation today are too glued to screens all day, you shouldn't lump us all in the same group. I'd do yard labor for 15/hr all fucking day and never complain a word.

he can not figure out anything on his own nor does he have a shread of common sense. If I keep him busy with mindless tasks, he does fine but anything that requires any problem solving, he's lost. as John Wayne would say: "Life is hard. It's even harder when you are stupid."

Yes. I have one right now that I'm trying everything to not HAVE TO fire him.